Kevin Ollie will make $1.25 million this year, per his current contract. His base salary is $400,000, and he earns an extra $850,000 through public relations, consulting and media payments.

That’s about middle of the pack as far as college coaches go. It’s nowhere near Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, who’ll make more than $9.68 million this year. It’s also the lowest among this year’s Final Four coaches: Kentucky’s John Calipari will make over $5.5 million this year, Florida’s Billy Donvan will make $3.9 million and Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan will make $2.28 million.

Still, Ollie will make more than established coaches like Creighton’s Greg McDermott ($945,725), Gonzaga’s Mark Few ($1.18 million) and St. Joe’s Phil Martelli ($902,651). He’ll make less than Cincinnati’s Mick Cronin ($1.5 million) but more than Providence’s Ed Cooley ($783,518).

And consider this: it’s about the same as Steve Masiello was due to make on a five-year contract with USF before it was learned that Masiello lied on his resume. With that in mind, it’s fair to say that Ollie is actually underpaid.

And it seems like AD Warde Manuel intends to do something about it, telling several outlets he intends to sit down with Ollie after the season and likely re-work the current deal. Of course, Ollie has made himself a little extra money over the past few weeks with UConn’s NCAA tourney run.

Per his contract, Ollie receives one-month’s base salary ($33,333) for reaching the tournament, another month’s salary for reaching the Sweet Sixteen and another for advancing to the Final Four. If UConn wins the whole thing, Ollie gets two months’ salary.

He also gets a $10,000 bonus if the team earns an APR of 930 or more (sources say the team will have a perfect 1,000 APR for the 2012-13 season), and possibly $10,000 more if the team reaches a certain GPA standard. So that means Ollie has already made an extra $110,000 this year, and is two wins away from $66,666 more.

Elsewhere:

*** We've got a bunch of UConn special section stories on our website right now. Do check them out.

*** Kentucky assistant Orlando Antigua accepted the job as South Florida's new head coach earlier in the week. He met with the media throng on Thursday, and was asked how unfortunate it is for him that USF is in the American Athletic Conference, not the Big East.

"I don't know, because the American Conference is pretty good. I don't know if you noticed but there's a team in the Final Four that plays in that conference. I think it's a great conference. It's not the old Big East, but that conference is no longer together. I just think you've got very competitive teams in the conference, and I'm excited about the challenge to see how we compete in it."

*** Here's the transcript, from ASAP Sports, of some of the questions Ollie, Donovan and Niels Giffey were asked at Thursday's press conference:

Q.  Kevin, did that win over Florida do anything special for your team?  Was that a turning point of any kind? 
COACH OLLIE:  No, we were playing good basketball before that win.  But we have so much respect for the program of Florida and how hard we have to play to get a victory like that.  It really helped going forward playing against a different scheme and playing against a pressure that they apply each and every play.  It really allowed our team to understand what level we have to play and compete to ultimately get to a Final Four. 
They have been on a great roll since that time in Storrs and we respect their program immensely.  For us now, it hasn't done anything.  Coming out with the victory, that's four months ago.  They had a different team.  We're a different team.  They had some players hurt at the time, now they're back in the rotation with Kasey Hill and Chris Walker now. 
So we're going to have to play at a level five.  We're going to have to play with the energy and passion and we're going to have to play together to hopefully continue to play on until Monday. 

Q.  For both coaches, the depth perception out there on the court a little bit different than it is normally in college basketball in the Arena because of its size and configuration.  Did both you guys feel that your players are adjusting to that depth perception problem that that court might give you? 
COACH OLLIE:  Yeah, same.  I really appreciate the NCAA giving us this opportunity.  Back in 2011 down in Houston, we didn't have a 90‑minute practice.  It was the open practice that we're going to have tomorrow and then the shoot‑around.  So this really allows our players to see the ball going in.  We always want to see that.  Just seeing them get used to and relaxed and shooting in a venue like this is a great opportunity for us. 

Q.  Kevin, would you share with us what it's been like to have your mother, with all she's been through, along for the ride with you and now here at the Final Four. 
COACH OLLIE:  Yeah, it was wonderful.  Yesterday she got cleared to fly and that was great news.  I have her back in Connecticut with me, she's been going through chemo with me at home.  And my wife has done a beautiful job taking care of her and being there when I was able to continue to do my job.  Just to see her get cleared, and she can come back home.  She lives in Plano here, and to come back home before her next surgery has just been a wonderful thing. 
It's going to be great to see her.  She wanted to come down to Madison Square Garden, but I was, like, No, save up your energy for the Final Four.
So it's great to have her come down and she's going to come down with my wife today. 

Q.  For both coaches, all four teams have terrific back courts.  Is that a reflection on the old saying that it's a guards' game and is that what it takes to get to this level? 
COACH OLLIE:  That's the word I believe in.  Filling your roles and having your identity and understanding when you get to this point, don't go off script.  Don't try to be something that you haven't been the whole season.  You definitely want to take advantage of different things and different matchups, but at the end of the day, you want to play hard and you want to play for each other. 
Shabazz will be the first person to tell you that he can't do it without his teammates.  He can't do it without Phillip Nolan setting a screen for him to come off a screen and roll and get a wide open look, wide open shot.  He can't get an outlet to start a fast‑break if Amida don't block a shot or get a crucial rebound like he did in the St. Joe's game where we were down by three and he got an and‑one. 
So we rely on the team.  It's not an individual.  But Shabazz is a great player, a great leader, and that's the one thing I see, he's an extension of me.  I asked him to do a lot.  Not only be a facilitator, but score out of necessity when we get down to the thick of the thing, the thick of a moment when he needs to make a play.  He does a great job of that.
But it's all about a team and he'll be the first one to say that.  He's a humble kid.  Ryan Boatright is a humble kid and they know how much they're able to do their job because of the other guys playing their role and doing it at a great place. 

Q.  Billy, what's it like to coach against a shot maker like Shabazz Napier when you know that you can maybe play the greatest defense in the world and he can just negate that sometimes.  Then for Kevin, what's it like to coach a guy like that? 
COACH DONOVAN:  Well, he's obviously a terrific player.  But I think that the other thing, too, you got to realize, and Kevin touched on this, there's two things:  One, they do a good job of their team filling roles.  He's really smart, he knows when to go, when to pass.  I think he understands the length and time of a game.  He's played a lot of minutes over his career.  He's been in big events and big venues. 
But I also think that Kevin really puts him in some very, very unique situations that he can do the things that he does.  Because he can beat you with drives, he can beat you with shots, he can beat you from behind the line, and he can also beat you passing the ball.  I think with the way UCONN runs their offense and the situations Kevin's put them in, it makes it even that much more difficult dealing with him.  Because you can run and just go trap him, but he's going to go find one of those guys, and you're going to leave someone open for a three.  You can try to cover the three and someone's going to be rolling to the basket.
So I think Kevin has done a great job with his team putting all those guys in position to really be successful and play at the level he's been able to play at. 

Q.  Kevin, Ryan was saying the other day that couple weeks ago you guys watched the Florida game again.  I was wondering when that was, what was your reason for showing it and what do you think that your team got out of it going on to this run? 
COACH OLLIE:  I really thought that they got at what level of intensity we got to play at.  It's been written, we showed it after the Louisville game, and they thought I was going to come in and show that tape. 
But I have so much respect for Florida and what they did throughout this whole year and being on this streak and the consistency.  That's what I love.  They play one way and one way, that's it.  They don't play another way.  They play hard, they play together, they are unselfish.  I just wanted our guys to see how we were rotating, how we were playing, how we were challenging them and that they can have that same experience again and play that same type of way. 
Florida's No. 1.  We competed at a high level against them.  Don't think that losing to Louisville that we all are going to stay here.  We're going to move on.  We're going to get better from it.  I think that through struggle, you get progression.  And that was a struggle for us. 
But if you don't stay there and you keep believing in yourself, that this might happen.  Guys believed that and we had the team I wanted to put it in.  It wasn't no big thing.  We just showed a couple plays and we got to work and we got back on the practice court and we let everything happen that was going to happen.  But we were going to build off of it. 
I think everybody was looking at the 33‑point loss as a problem.  We were looking at it as a possibility for us to get better as a team.  I think that's the kind of mindset that we have to overcome different distractions that we have been having, not the Louisville game, for two years now.  Being band, not being able to go to the post‑season last year.  They always had the next play mentality.  I think it's great for a team to always have that mindset that can you get better from any distraction and it's not going to stop you from your destiny as a team. 

Q.  Kevin, twice you've mentioned how in this game Saturday your guys are going to have to perform at level five.  I wondered if you would define level five. 
COACH OLLIE:  It's just a championship mentality.  It's playing together, playing unselfish, playing as five and not just one.  Because sometimes you get to this stage and you want to play as one and you want to go off and be an individual.  But that's not going to work. 
The whole of our team is better than the sums of its parts.  We know that.  The only way that we can get here and perform at the best possible way is for everybody to be focused in on us.  And that's our ultimate goal each and every day is, us.  How can we improve as a team.  Hopefully we can do that Saturday night. 

Q.  A question about DeAndre Daniels for both of you guys.  Billy, what have you seen from him in the past couple games that he really seems to have stepped it up and become an offensive force for them more so than earlier?  Kevin, was there a light that kind of went on with him recently?  He's really stepped it up in the past couple games. 
COACH DONOVAN:  I think that Kevin would probably answer more than I can.  I would say this:  We recruited DeAndre some coming out of high school.  I was always impressed with his length, his offensive ability.  It looked like earlier on, and Kevin can probably talk to more to it, just struggled to find his way.  I think he's probably come to grips with who he is as a player and how he needs to play and how Kevin wants him to play to impact his team. 
But to me, he's really become extremely versatile.  He posts up, he shoots threes, he's putting it on the floor, he can start the break, he passes, he rebounds, he's playing really hard for their team.  I think watching UCONN now and getting prepared for them in December, there's no question he's really continued to progress and grow. 

Q.  For both coaches, with all the talk happening in college football about a possible union that may be developing, I'm wondering as far as basketball is concerned, if you feel like players deserve more benefits than they're already getting. 
COACH DONOVAN:  I think the players do deserve more things.  There are certain things that I think are outdated and don't make sense in a lot of ways.  What those things are, should they be paid?  I don't know what it is.  But there needs to be more done for the student‑athletes, in my opinion. 
They make an incredible investment.  They obviously are generating a lot of dollars on college campuses, and I don't know what the solution is.  I do know that there needs to be a better way to take care of them in a way that maybe would not jeopardize or violate them being considered professionals.  I think there's ways that we can do that. 
The idea that a kid can't get a free hamburger somewhere, it doesn't make any sense to me.  What's the big deal?  How is that hurting anybody.  I get, Well, then it leads to this and this and this.  I get some of those thoughts.  But there's some common sense things I think that we can do to insure that from a normal student activity life they can have money in their pocket and be able to do things. 
COACH OLLIE:  For me, pretty much the same thing.  Just think the game has changed.  This venue has changed.  I remember when I was playing in college when we went to the tournament, we wasn't playing in venues like this.  Everything has changed and evolved and in some way, somehow, the student‑athlete, that dynamic has to evolve and change. 
Like I don't know which way is going to lead, but some way, somehow we're going to all make a sacrifice and get in a room and see how we can make a change for the student‑athlete.  Just like Billy said, not flying the parents up to see a game.  And they allow their kids to come to the University of Connecticut all the way from LosAngeles, California, which I came.  Some things like that has to change.  Hopefully we can do that.  Hopefully we can keep the integrity of the NCAA and the student‑athletes, but everything in life is always evolving.  I think we have to get to a point where it's evolving. 
I love to see the student‑athletes when they graduate have some kind of medical benefits or something out there to give them a leeway until they're able to get a secure job with health benefits.  Just something like that or along those lines I would like to see that happen. 

Q.  Niels, you're one of the few guys you, Shabazz, Tyler, that have actually been to a Final Four.  Does the atmosphere and all that goes into it, does that sort of equalize things?  Is everybody sort of as star struck, whether a senior, freshmen, sophomore, is it kind of hard to manage all that? 
NIELS GIFFEY:  It's kind of tough to manage these first days, just getting in here, taking care of the media.  You have to stay focused on what you got to done the court.  That's the most important thing, I think.  You can't be too impressed with everything that's going on, the gym, the different crowd that's going to be out there and all the attention that's focused on you. 
So just stay with your group as much as you can, stay with your teammates.  That's really what I'm trying to tell my younger guys that haven't been here before, just try to have fun, enjoy this moment as much as you can. 

Q.  For Niels and Scottie, there's so much attention paid on making it to the NBA.  How do you guys value just having a really great college career? 
NIELS GIFFEY:  I think it's interesting to see the different people, like Shabazz stayed for four years and he made that conscious decision to get his degree and wait for the next step for another year.  I think it's just a great opportunity to grow as a person and a player on a different level where it's not all about business, where it's not about money.  It's about family and getting together as a group. 
I think I had my personal experiences with the national team over the summer, and I talked to the guys and they told me all the time of stories, so I was really happy with all of the decisions that I made to play for four years and not go overseas. 
So it's just a great opportunity to build something at a university where you can always go back to.  You will always have that family and that basis.  I think that's why people should consider taking four years, getting their degree, and really making an impact on your university. 

Q.  For Scottie, what makes Shabazz so different and difficult to guard compared to some other point guards that you've guarded this season? 
SCOTTIE WILBEKIN:  I think that's his ability to pull up from anywhere and the quickness that he pulls up and with the efficiency that he makes difficult shots.  That's what makes him hard to guard.  He also has the ability to get in the lane with his quickness and his first step.  So just the different weapons that he has on offense is what makes it hard for him to be guarded. 

Q.  Scottie, wanted to ask you about Napier.  Can you relive the experience of that game.  I know you got hurt, too, and you lost and you watched him hit a winning shot.  How much does it means to you to get another crack at that defensive assignment? 
SCOTTIE WILBEKIN:  Well, I always like guarding guys that are challenging to guard.  But as far as getting another crack at playing them, it's really not about that at all.  I would be happy to play anybody in the Final Four, because I'm just happy to be here with an opportunity to advance. 
So they're a great team, they have obviously played great up until this point, so it's going to be a tough game for both of us.  Hopefully we'll come out with a lot of high energy and ready to play. 

UConn has its annual grudge match with Providence on Thursday at 7 p.m. at The Dunk, where strange things (marital aids, players' angry brothers) tend to happen. The teams will meet again in their respective Big East regular season finales on March 9 in Storrs.

No matter how bad the Friars are -- and they've been mostly bad in recent years, going 12-42 in Big East play the last three seasons -- they always seem to give UConn a battle. PC has won five of the last seven meetings and eight of the last 12, including a 72-70 win at the Dunk last February.

The Friars are stumbling through another season at 10-10 overall and 2-6 in the Big East, losers of three of their last four games. But you know they'll give UConn all they've got on Thursday -- they always do.

Here’s some of what Kevin Ollie had to say today:

On PC:

“They’re always tough in the Dunkin’ Donuts Center – I think it’s the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. They’ve got guards, (Vincent) Council’s coming back from his injury feeling more confident, (Kris) Dunn is coming back from his injury feeling more confident, Bryce Cotton averages 22 points a game. It’s a tough matchup. (LaDontae) Henton is also back down low, and Sidiki Johnson is getting minutes.”

"Coach Cooley’s gonna get that thing turned around. They’re playing hard, effective basketball. They’re passing the basketball, making the shots. And Cotton’s a tremendous scorer. We’re going to have to have an emphasis on stopping him.”

On how Dunn has helped Friars since he started playing on Dec. 18:

“His speed, how he attacks the basket, getting out in the passing lane. When they press, he puts tremendous ball pressure on opponents. He adds an extra dimension to them. (Josh) Fortune is real good, too.”

On whether he enjoyed playing at Providence back in the day:

“Not necessarily. They’ll say anything, that crowd. There were always competitive games – they had some great teams when I was playing – Michael Phelps, all the bigs they had, Michael Smith.”

(Ollie can be excused for his Jim Calhoun-like, name-mangling moment. Michael Phelps didn’t play hoops for the Friars before his Gold medal-winning swimming career. It was Robert Phelps Ollie was talking about).

Ollie recalled his game-winning shot against the Friars in 1994. It was a layup at the buzzer and his only basket of the game. It also got Donny Marshall off the hook after he had gotten a technical foul for "sarcastically clapping" at a referee after a call.

“I think it was (Jim) Burr,” Ollie recalled. “That’s the wrong person to clap to. He teched us up. I think that was my only field goal of the game. Good memories. I just remember saving Donny’s life on that one.”

Ollie on playing zone defense:

“I’m a man-to-man guy. I’m a Coach Calhoun disciple. I don’t really like playing zone, but to throw a team off, and with our guys who can get out and scramble a lot, it’s been effective – at times – for us.”

*** Omar Calhoun played high school basketball with Jordan Fuchs, the 6-foot-6 tight end who committed to UConn on Monday. Fuchs has hinted he might like to play hoops at UConn someday, as well, though that seems to be a long-shot, at best.

Anyway, Calhoun said he’s “good friends with him … a lot of people from New York like coming here because they know I’m having a good time here,” and added that Fuchs has some game on the hardwood.

“He’s pretty good … he’s like a wide-body kind of guy, runs the floor, he’s good.”

Calhoun said he hasn’t spoken to Fuchs since he committed, however, and has no idea if he intends on playing basketball.

*** UConn players gathered in a huddle after practice and seemed to be laughing and enjoying themselves quite a bit.

Said Calhoun: “Just having some fun, joking around. We have some good chemistry on this team. Everyone gets along. It’s a group of guys that like joking, but when we’re on the court, we get it done.”

*** Shabazz Napier said New England bragging rights are at stake tomorrow and recalled last year’s loss at The Dunk.

“Last year, we were winning the whole game and we just kind of gave them the game at the end. My freshman year, I think we played MarShon Brooks really well. I think that was when he was coming off his 55-point game. We’ve just got to play UConn basketball.”

*** Ryan Boatright sat out about the final 15 minutes or so of practice and had an ice pack wrapped around his left knee. However, Ollie said it was just a bout of tendonitis, which Boatright’s been battling all season, that flared up a little bit. Not big deal, it appears.

*** John Saunders will handle the play-by-play on espn2 and be joined by Tim Welsh as analyst. Welsh, of course, was PC's head coach for 10 seasons before being fired in 2008. This will be just the second time Welsh has done a TV game inside The Dunk since his firing. The first came last week against Pitt.

Just talked to Andre LaFleur, the former UConn assistant coach who left last April to join Ed Cooley's staff at Providence as associate head coach.

Contrary to popular belief, LaFleur says he didn't leave UConn because he felt he had been passed over by Kevin Ollie on the UConn coaching depth chart. It all came about at last year's Final Four in Houston, when he sat down with Cooley shortly after Cooley had left Fairfield to become PC's new head coach.

"It wasn't something I was even thinking about," LaFleur said. "I was trying to position myself for a few head coaching jobs, and I talked to Ed to see if I could get in the mix for (the Fairfield) job. He told me they wanted to go with a sitting head coach, and Ed and I just started talking from there."

LaFleur left UConn shortly after the Huskies' national championship game over Butler. In fact, he missed the championship parade in Hartford as he readied to take over his new position.

"I was thinking maybe it was time for a change, for different responsibilities," LaFleur said. "I had been at UConn for a while."

Although Jim Calhoun didn't appear very happy about LaFleur's departure the day of the parade, LaFleur insists that Calhoun "understood."

"It should be the goal of every assistant coach to do your job somewhere and one day, have the opportunity to run your own program," LaFleur said. "This seemed like an opportunity to do that someday."

Popular opinion was that LaFleur felt eclipsed by Ollie, the first-year assistant coach who drew raves for his recruiting and inspirational leadership with last year's team. LaFleur insists that's not the case.

"I never felt eclipsed or pushed out by anybody," he said. "I learned a lot from Kevin and from Glen Miller (who took over LaFleur's assistant job). On the court, Kevin brought a lot to the table with drills and practice things from his NBA experience. And I thought Glen was one of the best X's and O's guys ever as a UConn assistant coach."

LaFleur said he still has the same type of recruiting responsibilities as he did at UConn, but now has a lot more responsibilities on the court, with scouting, game preparation, etc.

LaFleur, who last saw Calhoun at the Hoops Hall Classic in mid-January, says he's been rooting for UConn all year. That ends Tuesday night, however, when the Huskies face PC at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence.

"For one game, 40 minutes, we'll be trying to beat them," he said. "The atmosphere is going to be tremendous. Historically, UConn at Providence has not been an easy out."

But he added that he still hasn't counted UConn out for this season just yet.

"I still think they're capable of catching fire," he said. "There's too much talent there."

Hectic day at Big East Media Day. On the short walk over from the subway station to the New York Athletic Club, my Big East umbrella (a gift from last year’s media day) practically ripped apart from the rain and strong winds. Symbolic, I’d say, given the Big East’s current uncertain state.

Got there at 10 a.m., just as the event was getting underway. I made out better than Jim Calhoun, who didn’t arrive until about 11 a.m. after getting stuck in traffic on his drive from Storrs. He said he left Storrs at about 6:30 a.m.

Calhoun is always a bit fashionably late for his availability to the media throng at this event, but never 45 minutes tardy like today.

“A new record,” he boasted.

Obviously, he was the subject of lots of interest from the assembled media. Calhoun mostly repeated what he’s been saying all along: that he wants to stay in the Big East, but will look out for what’s best for UConn.

“We’re in the best basketball conference in America, and that’s where we want to play,” he said. “The Big East made so many things possible for Connecticut, for me and my players. We’d love to be in the Big East.”

He did note, however, that he has been and will continue to be reaching out to his connections in the ACC and Big 12.

Here are some of the more interesting quotes I gathered throughout the day:

ALEX ORIAKHI:


(on UConn’s strong frontcourt)

“The good thing with our big men, we’re not a black hole. If you throw it into us and we see an open man, we’re willing to pass. I think our wings know that.”

(on Andre Drummond)

“He’s just a crazy athlete, man. The thing about his, with all the hype around him, you’d think he’d be arrogant. But he’s not. He listens. I try to coach him out there and tell him what he’s doing wrong, and he just takes it in like sponge. That’s the greatest part about him. When you have a kid with that much talent and is willing to listen and get better … the sky’s the limit.”

(on what Drummond needs to do to improve)

“He’s definitely still raw. He has to get a better understanding of actually playing the game. He’s so athletic, he does everything off pure athleticism. But once he’s able to get a face-up jump shot or a jump-hook, he can really be unstoppable. I think he has to work on his overall skill set. Once he does that, he’s going to be real scary.”

SHABAZZ NAPIER:


(on what Drummond needs to get better at)

“He needs to improve on a lot, like we all do. The one thing he’s been working on is his post moves. That’s one thing, coming in, he wasn’t really good at. I can tell you now he’s improved a lot. His ability to get to the glass and post his man up underneath the basket is one of the best I’ve seen. He just wants to get better, and that’s one thing about the guy I like. He wants to be the best player he can be.

JEREMY LAMB:

(on whether he’s thought if this will be his last year in college)

“I haven’t been thinking about that. I’m in college right now, I’m on the team right now.”

(on his own confidence level)

“I definitely have more confidence. Just the fact that I’m going to be a sophomore this year and I know how the Big East is.”

But …

“I don’t think my confidence is where it should be right now. My shot’s been falling, but I’ve been missing too many little shots that I probably should make.”


CALHOUN

(on freshmen Drummond, DeAndre Daniels and Ryan Boatright)

“Our three freshmen are really, really good players. All three are terrific.”

(on Drummond)

“You go out on the street and find me a 6-11, 277-pound kid that can touch the top of the backboard, I’ll find a place to fit him in.

“The biggest surprise is just how athletic he is, and how he can do so many effective things right now, instinctively. I’m not gonna tell him, but he’s really talented. He doesn’t know how talented he is yet, so we’re going to keep it a secret between us.

“Now, the thing is to take this athletic, wonderful kid who listens all the time, and turn it into a terrific basketball player. He’s not that yet, he really isn’t. But he’s got some things you just can’t teach.”

PROVIDENCE COACH ED COOLEY

(on Andre LaFleur, who left UConn to become Cooley’s associate head coach)

“Andre’s been tremendous. He thought it was a different opportunity. To this day, he tells me he misses Connecticut. He loves Jim Calhoun, he’s a father figure to him … but he also thought it was a chance to spread his wings and do something different. He’s added a great element to our program, given us a good profile. We’re really, really fortunate to have Andre.”

“I didn’t ask him why he left … maybe it just was a change. I’ve never asked him that, because I really don’t care.”

(on another Andre … you guessed it – Drummond)

“Great player. I’ve watched him for two years in the summertime, obviously watched him a lot this summer with the young men we recruited who were on his team. Jim’s going to do a great job with him. He’s a tremendous talent.”

A few other tidbits:

*** In the national preseason polls for Blue Ribbon Yearbook, Athlon Sports, Sporting News, Lindy’s, ESPN.com and Yahoo ! Sports, UConn is ranked, respectively: No. 5, 4, 4, 8, 6 and 7. First AP poll of the season will be released on Friday, Oct. 28.

*** Calhoun said that Rudy Gay and Ben Gordon may be practicing with the team this weekend. Kemba Walker and Hasheem Thabeet apparently have already done so.

*** This is the ninth time that UConn has been picked to finish first in the preseason coaches’ poll.

*** Napier and Lamb are on the cover of this year’s Big East media guide, embracing after last year’s national championship victory.

Providence College hasn't won much over the past decade, though the Friars have had surprising success against UConn in recent years on the basketball court.

Now, for the first time in memory, the Friars have beaten the Huskies off the court, as well.

PC has received a commitment from Kris Dunn, the highly-touted guard out of New London High. Per this espn.com article, PC has signed just three McDonald's All-Americans in its history (though I'm not sure I'd include Delray Brooks, since he was a transfer from Indiana).

This also beats the Ryan Gomes situation, since few (including then-PC coach Tim Welsh) knew that Gomes would blossom into such a great player at the time. Jim Calhoun famously recruited Emeka Okafor and Caron Butler ("They're not bad!") instead.

Credit new PC coach Ed Cooley, who started recruiting Dunn while Cooley was still coaching at Fairfield and had never let up. Give some credit to ex-UConn assistant Andre LaFleur, too.

And the good news could keep coming for the Friars ... Ricky Ledo will make his college decision next week, according to a source, and PC appears to be in very standing for Ledo's services.

Gotta admire Ed Cooley's enthusiasm as he takes over the reins at Providence. Somehow, I could never envision Jim Calhoun doing this:

Providence College men’s basketball season tickets sales continue to be strong as more than 40 percent of season ticket holders have renewed their seats and more than 130 new accounts have been set up. New Friar Head Basketball Coach Ed Cooley has been joining in the sales process as he has been calling fans to encourage them to purchase tickets and support the Friars. Sales also have been strong for student-season tickets. Last season, the athletics department sold 688 student season tickets, so far this summer more than 550 students have purchased tickets.

“Fans are excited about Ed Cooley and the brand of basketball that he will bring to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center,” Providence College Athletic Ticket Manager Christine Flannery said. “His energy and enthusiasm is contagious. Our fans have commented that they think it is special that our head coach is willing to pick up the phone and make calls to help ticket sales. However, it is more than just selling tickets, it is believing in the product he is trying to create.”

A Providence-based web site is reporting that Andre LaFleur, who just completed his 10th season as a UConn men’s basketball assistant coach, will soon be named the associate head coach at Providence. Former Fairfield coach Ed Cooley was named PC’s new head coach last month.

GoLocalProv.com says that LaFleur will be named to the position sometime next week, possibly as soon as Monday.

A source within the Providence program told the Register that LaFleur’s hire is “very close.”

LaFleur, 46, joined Jim Calhoun’s staff at UConn in 2001 as director of basketball operations, a role he served for three seasons. Prior to the 2004-05 season, he was elevated to assistant coach. LaFleur played for Calhoun at Northeastern in the early 1980’s.

While it might seem odd that an assistant on a national championship squad would take a job at a struggling program like PC, LaFleur’s options at UConn in the future appeared limited. Kevin Ollie, just hired as an assistant last year, is a favorite to take over as head coach once Calhoun retires, according to several sources within the UConn program.

As an associate head coach at PC, LaFleur would also be a step closer to a head coaching position he has been looking for for years now. He has long been tight with Cooley, a Providence native.

LaFleur landed several top recruits for the Huskies over the years, including Kemba Walker, who went out of his way to praise LaFleur during his press conference to announce he’s going pro on Tuesday in Storrs.